NFL draft: DeLand product Gillislee drafted by Dolphins

DeLand product Mike Gillislee was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 164th pick in the fifth round of the NFL draft Saturday.

BRIAN LINDERSTAFF WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — From the time he picked up a football and started outrunning all the other kids in the backyards of DeLand, Mike Gillislee said his dream was to play for the Miami Dolphins.

Saturday, Gillislee saw that dream come true when the Dolphins took the former DeLand Bulldogs and Florida Gators tailback with the 164th pick overall in the fifth round of the NFL draft. He said he is to report to Miami for minicamp Thursday.

“This is crazy man,” Gillislee said. “It's a dream come true. (Miami) is where most of my family came from, and growing up that was the team I always wanted to play for. I remember watching Ricky Williams carry the ball and guys that I admired, and I can't wait to get my chance to do that there.”

Gillislee watched the draft in the living room of his mother's small apartment in DeLand. When the draft's fourth round began Saturday — Round 1 was Thursday and Rounds 2 and 3 were Friday — he was joined by just seven people. By the time Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland called him just after 3:20 p.m., that number had swelled to nearly 30.

Gillislee said he spoke to Ireland briefly before getting to speak with Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin.

“(Ireland) just said that he watched my film and that he liked what he saw,” Gillislee said. “And he said he thought I fit in well with what they were doing.

“(Philbin) was just like, 'Welcome to the Dolphin nation. I hope that you are 100 percent, and that you are ready to play football.' ''

Gillislee's answer was simple.

“Let's go to work,” he told Philbin.

Those words set off a celebration in the crowded living room. The group moved in tight, many of them angling for an opportunity to wrap an arm around the freshly drafted Gillislee. His mother, Sherri Harris, broke down in tears.

“Tears of joy,” Harris said. “They were just tears of joy and happiness.”

And maybe a few tears of relief.

Gillislee (5-foot-11, 208-pounds) rushed for 1,152 yards and 10 touchdowns on 244 carries with Florida in 2012. He combined that with a solid week of practice at the Senior Bowl, and Saturday he said he felt that might have been enough to elevate his stock into the back end of the third round Friday night.

Instead, he watched for more than three hours Saturday before his name was called. Thirteen backs were taken ahead of him, including Vanderbilt's Zac Stacy, whom the Rams traded up to pick 160th overall.

Gillislee said St. Louis was one of the teams that worked him out, and he said he felt like the Rams might pick him.

“That stung a little bit,” he said. “But Zac Stacy is a great back, so I can understand that.”

Gillislee's girlfriend, Alexis Willliams, was by his side through the draft. She said she felt he handled the wait well.

“I think he was a little nervous,” she said. “But he just wanted to know where he was going.”

Gillislee did not have to wait long after the Stacy pick to get that answer. He is expected to compete for a roster spot behind projected Dolphins starter Lamar Miller. The Dolphins let last season's starting tailback, Reggie Bush, go to the Lions in free agency.

Gillislee was one of three Gators — linebacker Jelani Jenkins and kicker Caleb Sturgis the others — drafted by the Dolphins on Saturday.

“It is unbelievable,” he said. “What I do, I just don't do it for me. I do it for my family, to see my mom, dad, brother and sister happy. And DeLand ... just making it out ... this was a dream come true to see my name in the NFL.